About Princes Bay, Staten Island

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In 1673, the Dutch seized the area of New York City from the English and named it "New Orange", after the Dutch Prince of Orange.  The following year, the English recaptured the area, keeping the name they had originally given it.  Some places in the area, however, kept their Dutch names.  The southeastern neighborhood of Prince's Bay in Staten Island is one of them.  It, too, was named for William III, Prince of Orange.

As with the rest of Staten Island, Native Americans were the first to settle in Prince's Bay.  As early as 6,000 years ago, Prince's Bay has been a great place for oyster harvesting.  During the 1700's, planting and harvesting oysters was a significant occupation.  It was so important, in fact, that "Prince's Bay Oysters" would be sold as far as Europe and were actually items on seafood menus in London.

Prince's Bay was once home to a Quarantine hospital.  Built during the fall of 1857 on Joel Wolfe's farm, the hospital was used to contain immigrants coming off ships who had fallen ill with yellow fever.  The men who worked on the docks were able to return to their families, while the others were sent to the Quarantine hospital.  With the return of the men to their families, those who had been exposed to the epidemic spread the disease to the local residents.  The residents, in turn, were enraged and burned the facility down in April of 1858, in hopes that the Quarantine Commissioners would build a facility elsewhere, which they did.

In 1929, the Wolfe Estate was sold to the City of New York, where many summer homes were constructed for vacationers.  Four years after the purchase, residents began to protest, which resulted in the demolishing of the summer homes and the development of a park on the land.  The park, which has been named Wolfe's Pond Park, is surrounded by Holten Avenue, Chisolm Street, Luten Avenue, Cornelia Avenue, Raritan Bay, and the Staten Island Railway.  The 340-acre park was developed with stairs to the beach on Raritan Bay, a playground, a picnic area, a parking lot, a boat house, and a bath house.   About sixty years after its development, the park was reconstructed.  This construction replaced the old features with better ones and added more shrubbery, drainage and lighting systems, and paths to the park.  In addition, the park has two tennis courts and a roller hockey rink. (Photo Right, Homes on Johanna Lane, Princes Bay)

To the southeast of Wolfe's Pond Park is Lemon Creek Park.  In 1962, the area below Hylan Boulevard, between Sharrott Avenue, Bayview Avenue, and Seguine Avenue, was developed into said park.  Located within the area is the Princess Bay Boatmen's Association marina, which was named from the homophonic error of the neighborhood's name.  Furthermore, located in the park is the Seguine Mansion, which was built in 1838 by Joseph H. Seguine.  By the end of the century, the house served as a summer resort.  It was later sold to relatives of Joseph Seguine, who sold it to George Burke in 1981.  He, in turn, donated the house in 1989 to the city, who established it as a historic house within the park. Nearby is the Seguine Equestrian Center which offers horseback-riding lessons and has a stable which holds fourteen horses.  In addition to these features, 105-acre Lemon Creek Park has an area for dog runs and a playground.

The area is also home to the popular waterfront community of Captains Quarters. This townhouse development took shape in the late 1980's, with community pools, clubhouse, tennis courts all part of the offering. The are also large modern luxury homes and older stately victorians that make Princes Bay their home.  

In 1881, the Samuel Stockton White Company of Philadelphia merged with the Johnston Brothers.  This merge created the dental firm known as the Samuel Stockton White Dental Manufacturing Company. During the late 1800's and early 1900's, this company was the largest manufacturer and inventor in their industry in the entire world.  They manufactured dental instruments and chairs, appliances, and artificial teeth.  In the 1970's, the factory relocated to New Jersey, leaving their building vacant.  At this time, the Prince's Bay Trade Mart was built.  A few years after its opening, the shopping center had to close down due to its incapability of competing with the easily-accessible and convenient Staten Island Mall.

Princes Bay is a community that sit on Staten Island's South Shore and borders the towns of Huguenot to the east Pleasant Plains to the west and Woodrow to the north. You can get a rundown on Staten Island homes for sale and commercial real estate in this area through each of the corresponding links.

There are a few schools, which serve Prince's Bay.  You have P.S. 3 on South Goff Avenue, I.S. 7 on Huguenot Avenue, I.S. 34 on Academy Avenue, and Tottenville High School on Luten Avenue.  Instead of driving or taking the school bus, you can always take one of the local buses that travel through Prince's Bay.  There's the 55, which travels to and from Rossville and the Staten Island Mall along Seguine Avenue; the 56, which also travels along Seguine Avenue to and from Huguenot and the Staten Island Mall; the 59, which takes Hylan Boulevard to get to and from Port Richmond and Tottenville; and the 78, which also takes Hylan Boulevard, but travels to and from the Bricktown Mall and St. George.  Then, you have the x23, which has a stop on Seguine Avenue and will take you to New Jersey using the Goethals Bridge.  Just like the many other southern neighborhoods of Staten Island, Prince's Bay also has its own station on the Staten Island Railway, which is located on Seguine Avenue, by Amboy Road.